The present invention relates to a control assembly for a ratchet tool and includes a shifter with a bead and spring engaged with a passage in the shifter and the bead is engaged with one of two notches in the head and the spring is engaged with the pawl.
A conventional ratchet tool generally includes a head with a hole defined therethrough and a toothed engaging member is rotatably received in the hole of the head. The head further has a recess defined in an inner periphery of the hole and a ratchet mechanism is received in the recess wherein a pawl is engaged with the toothed engaging member and controlled by a shifter. The pawl is shifted by the shifter which is operated by the user and the pawl is shifted to either end of the recess so that the engaging member is rotated with the tool to put a torque in one direction and is rotated independently from the tool in the other direction. The positioning of the pawl is important to the ratchet mechanism and the function of the ratchet tool. Most of the conventional ratchet mechanism employs a bead to push the pawl and this is not able to securely position the pawl at the desired position.
The present invention intends to provide a ratchet mechanism that provides a firm positioning force to the pawl which is then engaged with the toothed engaging member firmly.
In accordance with one aspect of the present invention, there is provided a ratchet tool which comprises a head having an engaging member rotatably received in a hole in the head and a recess is defined in an inner periphery of the hole so as to receive a pawl therein which is engaged with the engaging member. A passage is defined through the head and communicates with the recess. Two notches are defined in an inner periphery of the passage. A shifter member is rotatably received in the passage and has a lever outside of the head. A through hole is defined through the shifter member and a bead and a spring are received in the through hole. The bead is engaged with one of the two notches and the spring is engaged with a second side of the pawl.
The present invention will become more obvious from the following description when taken in connection with the accompanying drawings which show, for purposes of illustration only, a preferred embodiment in accordance with the present invention.